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| CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS - 19th
Century (and earlier) books.
Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. |
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| Many of these books may not be classics in their own right, yet they are eminently collectable if for no other reason than their wonderful embosed covers and woodcut illustrations. The English is often 'quaint' and a delight to read, and they serve as a historic record of contemporary events as well as an indication of what was known of the marine world at the time. And besides all that, they are great to hold and feel and smell. |
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A NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD PRFORMED BY
CAPTAIN JAMES COOK WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE, DURING THE PREVIOUS AND
INTERVENING PERIODS.
With twelve illustrations reproduced in exact facsimile. from drawings made during the voyages. A.Kippis. Published in 1878 by Bickers and Son, London. Hardcover, gilt embossed boards, gild-edged, 410 pages, superb mono drawings. [ps] |
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BIBLIOTHEQUE DE LA NATURE,
LA VIE AU FOND DES MERS
Illustrations By: A.L. Clement, Dietrich, Poyet, Libraire de L'Academie de Medecine, Paris, (1885) Hardcover, 302 pages., in French. Crustacean Sea Creatures, different fishes, and all underwater creatures, 96 interesting illustrations, 4 coloured illustrations (lithography), 8 Plans. Book Size: 24.5 x 16 cm.(9.7 x 6.3 in.). Image at left is one of the colour plates.
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DENIZENS OF THE DEEP.
An Account of Fishes, Molluscs, Crustacea &c. From "the Sea And Its Living Wonders". Dr.G.Hartwig. Published in 1887, by Longmans, Green and Co, London. Hardcover, embossed boards, 160 pages, 117 illustrations. Not an important marine biology text by today's standards, but still a pleasant and valuable book, more by virtue of age than anything else. [ps] |
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LE FOND DE LA MER.
Louis Sonrel. Printed in 1880 About all under the sea, diving helmet, diving, diver who work under the sea, etc … There are 93 different print, with for example Rouquayrol - Denayrouse. 305 pages. Image on left is from the book. [ps] |
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LIGHTHOUSES AND LIGHTSHIPS.
A Descriptive and Historical Account of Their Mode of Construction and Organization. W.H.Davenport Adams. Published in 1875 by T.Nelson & Sons, Edinburgh and New York. Hardcover, gilt embossed boards, 320 pages, many woodcuts throughout. In six parts with appendix: Ancient History of Lighthouses, The Science of Lighthouses, Lighthouses of Great Britain, Lighthouses in France, Floating Lights and Lightships, Life in the Lighthouse. The diagrams and operation details of the equipment is fascinating. [ps] |
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MEMORABLE SHIPWRECKS AND SEAFARING ADVENTURES OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
J.F.Layson. Published by A.J.Smith, Melbourne. No date, suggest circa 1890s. Hardcover, 304 pages, full page sepia woodcuts. Memorable shipwrecks? Some thirty ships are mentioned. The Neva, wrecked on King Island in 1835, rates seven pages. [ps] |
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OPPIAN. Halieuticks: The Nature of Fishes and
Fishing of the Ancients.
Oxford 1722, 8vo title page vignette, 232p. Full calf binding. An account of Oppian's life & writings, and a catalogue of his fishes. It contains much fable and absurdity together with considerable zoological knowledge (Westwood and Satchell, p164). Oppian wrote several pieces, The Nature of Fishes, The Nature of Beasts and The Nature of Birds and was considered an eminent naturalist in his time. This first published English translation of this Greek classic was translated from the Greek by Mr John Jones of Balliol College. Oppian of Corycus (or Anazarbus) in Cilicia, flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. According to an anonymous biographer, his father, having incurred the displeasure of Lucius Verus, a colleague of Marcus Aurelius, by neglecting to pay his respects to him when he visited the town, was banished to Malta. Oppian, who had accompanied his father into exile, returned after the death of Verus (169) and went on a visit to Rome. Here he presented his poems to Marcus Aurelius, who was so pleased with them that he gave the author a piece of gold for each line, took him into favor and pardoned his father. Oppian subsequently returned to his native country, but died of the plague shortly afterwards, at the early age of thirty. His contemporaries erected a statue in his honor, with an inscription which is still extant, containing a lament for his premature death and a eulogy of his precocious genius. His poem on fishing (Halieutica), of about 3500 lines, dedicated to Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, is still extant. [Detail kindly provided by Gordon Graham at Antiquarian Angler. Gordon has (had) a copy of this remarkable book available for AUD$1200.) |
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PICTORIAL CHRONICLES OF THE MIGHTY DEEP.
The Sea, Its Ships and Sailors. No author, nor editor losted. Published by James Sangster & Co, London. No date but suspect about th 1880s. Hardcover, beautiful embossed cover, 514 gilt-edged pages, mono wood engravings and eight superb colour drawings. Over 120 chapters on ancient and 'modern' voyages' and the (predominantly) men who made them - although Cleopatra is mentioned. The voyage of Pelsart's Batavia and the subsequent massacre in the Abrolhos islands rates ten pages, and two rather fanciful woodcuts of the loss of the ship. A great book to browse. [ps] |
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THE HISTORY OF THE SEA
Frank. B.Goodrich. Hubbard Bros, USA; Max Herger & Co., Toronto, Ontario. Hardcover, embossed boards, 250 ‘spirited' illustrations. First published in 1858, with the 1880 edition having additional sections written by Edward Howland. A graphic description of maritime adventures, achievements, explorations, discoveries and inventions, including Hazards and Perils of Early Navigators, Cruelities and Experiences of Noted Buccaneers, Conquests and Prizes of the great Pirates, Discoveries and Achievements of the great Captains, Conflicts with Savages, Cannibals, Robbers, etc, Artic Explorations and attendant sufferings, Growth of commerce, Rise and Progress of Ship Building, Ocean Navigation, Naval Power, etc, etc. Covering the many centuries of development in science and civilization from The Ark to the Present Time. To which is added: An account of adventures beneath the sea; diving, dredgins, deep sea sounding, latest submarine explorations, etc., etc., prepared with great care by: Edward Howland, Esq. (author of many popular works). eBay description. [ps] |
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THE CRUISE OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIP "CHALLENGER".
Voyages Over Many Seas, Scenes in Many Lands. W.J.Spry. (My copy) published 1878 by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle , & Rivington, London. Indicates 'Seventh And Cheaper Edition'. Hardcover, gold embossed ship on boards, 320 pages, plus 32 pages of publications by the publisher. Preface to the Seventh Edition states 'In less than twelve months 'The Cruise of H.M.S.Challenger' has run through six English editions, and has been republished in the United States and Canada, and translated into several continental languages...' Covers a voyage around the world from 1872 to 1876. [ps] |
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THE SEASIDE NATURALIST
"Outdoor Studies in Marine Zoology and Botany, and Maritime Geology". By the Rev. Robert W. Fraser, M.A. Published 1868 by Virtue & Co, 26 Ivy Lane, London. Leather bound, ribbed, 292 pages, line drawings. My copy has embossed emblem on brown front cover of Ballarat Colledge.Presented as a 2nd Prize for English, Geography and History to J.A.Sharp, Christmas 1870. R.O.McCoy, Principal. A delightful book, with several excellent illutrations. Its value as a marin text is not longer applicable. "And there is, in fact, much that is analogous in the degree of suiccess which has attended human efforts to penetrate the mysteries of the ocan depths, and to investigate those which blong to the inconceivably remote objects of the firmament". (Title page shown on left). [ps] |
| THE SHIPWRECK
William Falconer, An English Sailor. Published in 1800 by James Oram, New York. Hardcover, 170, 1 pp., frontis. and 3 plates. |
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| THE MARINER`S CHRONICLE: CONTAINING
NARRATIVES OF THE MOST REMARKABLE DISASTERS AT SEA, SUCH AS SHIPWRECKS,
STORMS, FIRES AND FAMINES: ALSO NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS, PIRATICAL ADVENTURES...
ETC.
Archibald Duncan et al. Published 1834 by George W. Gorton, New Haven (USA) Hardcover, 504 pp., frontis., 24 other illustrations on twelve sheets. |
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THE SEA
Its Stiring Story of Adventure, Peril and Heroism. F.Whymper. Published by Cassell Petter & Galpin, London, Paris and New York. No date, circa 1880s. In four volumes, hardcover, gold embossed board, many excellent woodcuts. Covers every imaginable story - the Perils of a Sailor's Life, Round the World on a Man-O-War, History of Ships and Shipping Interests - so much, and a delight to read. |
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THE SEA
Jules Michelet. Published in 1883 by T.Nelson and Sons, Paternoster Row, Edinburgh and New York. Hardcover, gold embossed board, 301 pages, 'with seventeen illustrations'. In four parts; A Survey of the Sea; The Origin of the Sea' The Conquest of the Sea' The Sea as a Regenerator. |
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THE SEA AND ITS WONDERS
Mary and Elizabeth Kirby. Published in 1871 by T.Nelson and Sons, Edinburgh and New York. Gold embossed hardcover, 304 gilt-edged pages, many mono woodcuts throughout. Quite a remarkable book on marine life, mammals, reptiles and island birds, considering its date. The gold engraving on the cover is quite superb, showing amn eskimo (I presume) in a kayak attempting to harpoon a narwhale. A great book |
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THE STORY OF THE SEA.
Edited by Q. Printed by Cassell and Company, Limited, 1895. Hardcover, gold embossed boards, 760 pages, woodcuts throughout, and a few photographs. Who is 'Q' you may well ask. Certainly it is not James Bond's boss. This is a great book, to browse and read over many a night in front of the fire. Thirty-two chapters cover virtually all the subjects related to the sea - of men and ships, and shipwrecks; marine life; legends and song; war and whaling. |
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| No image. | THE WORLD OF THE SEA
Translated and enlarged by The Rev. H. Martyn Hart, MA., from "Le Monde de la Mer," by Mons. Moquin Tandon. Published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin, London. No date, but my copy had the handwritten date 1869 next to Hart's name and 1860 next to that of Tandon. Hardcover, small gold embossed image on font board, 460 pages, supern woodcuts throughout, one colour plate, and several full page plates which appear to be a different process of printing, giving the look of a printed negative. Fifty chapters cover all the main groups of marine life including the mammals and land animals.Very well illustrated throughout. A delightful book. |
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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST
A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea. Richard Henry Dana. Published by Ward, Lock and Co, London, New York, Melbourne. No date, but copy contains a handwritten date of presentation as 21-4-95, ie 1895. Hardcover, printer board, 284 pages. This would be a wonderful book to read completely, but the print is far too small to read without becoming tired; probably less than 9 point. The book is of value not only in its expression of life at sea, but also of the author's observation on land, of peoples and cultures so different from his own. |
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VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEAS AND THE SHIPWRECK
OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES CUTTER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF TWO YEARS RESIDENCE
ON AN UNINHABITED ISLAND
Charles Medyett Goodridge, (one of the survivors). Published by W.C. Featherstone, and sold by the Author, Exeter 1841, several editions. (1841 may be date of first or fourth edition). Hardcover, 170 pages, illustrated with 3 full page plates, includes "Opinions of the Press" accompanied by subscriber list and with errata slip. One copy, a fourth edition, described as bound in 4.5 by 7.5 inch hard covers, gilt lettering on spine. An early account of the Crozet Islands, where Goodridge, a native of Paignton in Devon, member of a sealing expedition was wrecked in 1821. Stranded on the Crozet Islands, a small uninhabited group lying between South Africa and Australia, Goodridge and his companions recorded a two-year stay on the islands. Written as a new Robinson Crusoe, where the survivors lived on sea-elephant seals, penguins and other sea birds, they were in the process of building a boat to escape, when they were rescued by an American ship 'Philo'. Immediately falling out with the captain, the party were left on St. Paul Island for three months before being picked up and taken to Tasmania. Goodridge's eight years there furnished him with material to later write his Statistical View of Van Diemen's Land. |
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WONDERFUL ESCAPES! CONTAINING THE NARRATIVE OF THE SHIPWRECK
ANTELOPE PACKET THE LOSS OF THE LADY HOBART PACKET, ON AN ISLAND OF ICE.
THE SHIPWRECK OF THE HERCULES ON THE COAST OF AFRICA.
An Extraordinary Escape fro the Efects of a Storm, in a Journey over the Frozen Sea in North America. Printed by Richard Grace, (London), 1822. A delightful small book of about 2.5 x 6 inches, hardcover, leather bound, 180 pages, several primitive woodcuts. 'We had scarcely quitted the ship , when she gave a heavy lurch to port, and then went down head foremost'. No need to describe it further - the title tells it all. (Title page shown at left). |
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WRECKED ON A REEF, OR TWENTY MONTHS AMONG THE AUCKLAND
ISLES.
A True Story of Shipwreck, Adventure and Suffering. Published in 1882 by T.Nelson and Sons, Edinburgh and New York. Gold embossed hardcover, 350 pages, full page mono woodcuts. Apparently translated 'from a French narrative of much interest, Les Naufrages des Auckland Isles' which records the adventures of a small company of shipwrecked seamen... the story is graphically related, but, apparently, without any attempt at exageration...' The vessel in question is the schooner Grafton in 1863. |
